We are inspired by the creativity of Portland’s urban chicken keepers and we think you will be too. That’s why we’re excited about our 2011 Tour de Coops!

Saturday, July 16 – 10am-3pm

There are 22 amazing coops on this year’s tour. From green roofs to cob building, water catchment features to repurposed materials, you will see lots of fantastic coops some lucky chickens call home. Navigating the tour is easy. You can get out of your car and bike or walk because we organized the coops into neighborhood clusters.

The ticket to the tour is the booklet. Booklets are $15 and one booklet is good for a group of people. The booklets include pictures, descriptions, maps and our comprehensive list of coop building tips. Booklets are on sale Friday, July 8 – 1pm Saturday, July 16. You can pick up your booklet at one of the following locations:

All of the booklet sales locations will also be selling raffle tickets to win The Garden Ark mobile chicken coop built in a Growing Gardens workshop, taught by John Carr from The Garden Coop Raffle tickets are one for $5 or three for $12.

you can also order snazzy Tour de Coops 2011 Henlandia t-shirts online!

Want a sneak peak of what you’ll see on the tour? Here is Mitchell Snyder and Shelley Martin’s coop in NE Portland.

Photo by John Clark

“With backgrounds in architecture, we approached the design and building of our coop with much consideration. We thought about the best location, the space, what materials would be most appropriate and durable, and how our hens would use their new home. Comfort and protection from the elements were most important for our hens, so we framed the walls to allow insulation to keep them warm in the winter while providing multiple ventilation options and a green roof for hot summer months. Inside, two perches made from branches are comfortable resting places, and two egg boxes can be accessed through a long door on the outside of the run. the run is fully enclosed to provide protection from predators when we are not able to let our chickens in the yard. The “kitchen” is a small, separate enclosure in the run that keeps the food dry and the water clean, and is easily accessible from the exterior for changing. With those considerations in mind, we kept the design of the hen house as simple as possible while also – most importantly – keeping our hens as happy as possible.”

If any of you have ever gone on the tour or shown your coop on the tour, we’d love to hear from you. Tell us some of the inspiring things you saw or learned from all those creative coops.